NeuroFire

They're an Arcanist Asset, so that would be out. But yeah, Vanessa brings a ridiculous number of options to the crew. (I'm not looking forward to facing her.)

Badge of Speed was my favorite relic in testing. Reactivate a Wastrel and watch your Objectives be cleaned up. Armor is just fantastic to have. It's sad that to take it and the Badge of Speed means spending the entire cache. I would usually take one of them and then the Glowing Sabre or Invigorating Bridle. (I do have to say, though, it's annoying to lose a Relic ability with the horse.)

Well, I think they're Rare 3 for one thing, and that would be an eleven-stone box for another thing. I hope they won't do that to us just because our new Master is two models. (Did they do that to the Dreamer? I don't know.) If my calculations are correct, Luna, 3 Wastrels and Sidir would be a 23-stone box. Seems like that would be much more in keeping with most sets that have come out before now, adjusting for the new inclusion of Totems. (Yes, it would need to be a massive box, and probably expensive, but I'll want Sidir anyway, so it's not like it will save me any money having to buy him separately.)

I thought it was any non-living Arcanist model. I guess most of those options would be Constructs, though.

There are several Arcanist models that Mei can always take no matter what. Since the Traps are dual-faction, they qualify as a 10T minion that can be hired by any master running as 10T. So, Mei can declare herself 10T and hire her Arcanist friends and any models with the 10T alignment she wants. Now, there are some Arcansit models she wouldn't be able to take. For instance, she couldn't run with Kaeris if she was acting as a 10T master, but she could still take some Gamin and the Rail Golem, because her rules say she can.

Armor and blast/pulse immunity is something the Freikorp Trapper gets for being Freikorp. Sadly such things are not standard in the Guild. He does have Hunter, Scout, Guide, and From the Shadows (with a nice twist) He doesn't push after shooting. He likes to hang out where he is, setting traps and waiting for his next victim (so he can skin them and make them into jerky.) Hunting Musket is actually fairly short-range; and the shorter the better, really. To be fair, the Guild already has a sniper, so we don't really need another one. Ignoring armor is something we might need, though.

I believe they cost 4.

That was a lot of the appeal to me, as well. That and her card manipulation. But the severe drop in her defense makes the paired pistol almost a liability, because I often don't want to be in anyone's attack radius, but to shoot I pretty much have to be. (Yeah, her range is big, I know, but it's not big enough to keep her safe.) And her damage takes a hit because she loses Critical Strike. Bite and Bullets looks great on paper, but I have yet to make it happen, since I have to make a Diving Attack for it to work. Maybe on a board with a lot of elevated terrain for her to attack from it would happen more. But then when she does attack, she's in melee, and she just won't last overly long there. (It's a real shame she doesn't gain Black Blood along with the Neverborn characteristic, I think it would make her more viable in combat.) Going from being one of the highest defense masters in the game with one of the most useful spells in the game (Obey) and one of the best long-range damage profiles... it's just weak tea to be able to fly. It barely makes her more mobile, as her movement doesn't change, and most of her new tricks are quite difficult to pull off. The only thing she does reliably is build a great hand, which is nice but not something I usually want to trade standard Perdita for; she's already got Hero's Gamble if I really hate my hand. It's a shame, because when I read her avatar I kept thinking how awesome it could be, and she was the first one I got. In practice, though, manifesting is super situational. Strategy, terrain, and opposing faction all play a big role in whether aPerdita is a good move or a guaranteed dead master. Like I said, I just haven't felt like what she gains makes up for what she loses. Now aSonnia, I feel is balanced. She actually gets a little bump in Df, as well as her potentially massive healing ability, making up for the loss of the sword that can heal her one wound per hit. Also lost with the sword is her Disassemble trigger, but her new fiery Salamander ignores Armor. She loses Confiscate Lore, but gains Ca 8 withAdaptive Mind so she doesn't really need it. Pyre is a so much better spell than Flame Wall it's kind of mind-boggling. She loses all the Blasts, but gains a damage Pulse. Her counterspell actually gets even better, because now it's inflicting damage. And she keeps Violation. So I guess what I'm saying is, yeah, you should get her. Plus the model is just... so pretty.

It really depends. I'm a pretty big fan of how Sonnia's avatar plays. Perdita's avatar can be a bit more frustrating; I don't think what she loses is actually made up for by what she gains.

You use the Totem's Ca, yes. This isn't always so bad. Perdita's Totem, for example, has a :masks on its Ca, making it actually a little easier to cast Obey with it, even with a lower number on it. But you can Channel it, and they're allowed to use a Stone on it if it really has to be cast.

Yeah. MccCabe has special hire rules for all the new Guild models, I think, but definitely Sidir. I haven't seen the fluff, but they seem to have some history. Aggh, my bad, meant one of the best there, too.

Well, most of the images are on the banner ad or wallpapers. At least they're not posting the full stats. Rare 1

Sidir shoots things. (He's totally decent in melee, too, but his gun is one of the best in the game, especially at close range or against big things.) His willpower is also one of the best in the game, so he won't have trouble with Terror or anything (he's Immovable so can't be Lured or Obeyed.) He has some totally decent support stuff he can do, as well; upping defense on himself or others, throwing himself in front of a master model, putting up obscuring. He can heal himself, so he's survivable. Really, he's good in most areas. I'm looking forward to Sidir. *edit* dgraz beat me to it. Ah well

I believe they're rare, yeah. Much as I like them, I wouldn't want to just fill a crew with them, so I'm not too bothered about rarity. There is a bit. It's kind of that way for the Resser master, too. I think it will take awhile to really remember everything you have access to. I might have to come up with some card attachments or something to keep track of which abilities I'm taking. Not sure yet.

Ooooh, I'm so excited for the Wastrels! They have some fantastic movement tricks, even without the supermove relic. With it? Some of the best objective grabbers in the game. And if McCabe takes the relic for reactivating Black Sheep? A Wastrel just gets ridiculously good at getting treasure, burning/planting evidence, or just popping over to wherever they need to be. But even without McCabe, I think they will become the new standard in Guild objective grabbers. Perhaps 10T as well; I can see them being quite good with a couple Torakage, all kinds of movement shenanigans there.

Or if he's close to death. I think they might be useful for that, too.

Yeah, it would be silly if he got those plus the permanent upgrade points. (Just wanted to make sure no one thought it was all his minions.) He can get upgrade points from enemy models too, of course.

He doesn't get the rpg upgrades when Ancestors die; it has to be a non-Ancestor model. But yeah, he basically gets stronger when things are killed near him. He's got, like, some mobility options, and some defense options, some new spells he can get, some damage upgrades. Lot to choose from, can be quite adaptable. Chiaki can help him get the upgrades, if things are killed near her. It's an interesting mechanic he has. She can, but you don't have to. It's very situational (facing a Justice Crew, for instance) but she has an aura that can turn off the Undead characteristic, or being in base with her does it as well.

Yeah, the Torakage are fantastic for that. Really, that combo is part of what makes Torakage so good.

Highlights: Ototo is a giant Hard to Kill melee beast. He can hand out Slow, ignore H2W and H2K, and has a healing action. Range can (perhaps) take him out, but once he gets to something he'll probably wreck it.

And Tap Power! They can move, but probably won't be doing much of it, so who cares if they're Slow? Or they can be little walking bombs or Combat Mechanic fodder.

I'm functioning on beta info, so maybe the Torakage have gone to 6ss, which would be cool. Well, unless a lot has changed they can: Focus for 1 AP, then gain on the next attack with a (0) or use a different (0) to gain Magical or blasts or Slow or extra damage on their bows, they always ignore an intervening model when determining LoS, get extra shots with a trigger, and they have slightly more range than Riflemen... Basically, they're super awesome. Just keep them out of melee, they're in trouble there.

Yeah, I was kind of surprised they didn't go with Oiran for the box. Then again, the Torakage are really, really cool.

Actually, they're probably 7ss. (The Archers are 6ss.) The four-stone minion is the Oiran.

Yeah, we were all told not to assume we know all the rules, because tweaks would be happening. It's too bad, because I'd love to just dive in, but I'll feel bad if I give someone inaccurate info.